A Rare Frog Species Discovered by a Young Bangladeshi

By discovering a rare species of frog, Sajid Ali Howlader, a distinguished student of the University of Chittagong (CU), has opened a new chapter in Bangladesh’s zoological research history. As the first Bangladeshi to discover a new animal species, he has published a report in the world-renowned wildlife journal Zootaxa.

This 26-year-old young researcher has become the youngest animal discoverer in the world by identifying a rare frog species found on the CU campus. This marks the first time an amphibian, reptile, or mammal has been discovered in Bangladesh or by a Bangladeshi. Moreover, this is also the first recorded instance of a single individual discovering an animal and publishing the findings in an international scientific journal without any assistance. His article on the newly discovered frog was published in Zootaxa on February 9. Sajid named the frog he discovered “Fejervarya asmati” in honor of his professor, Dr. Asmat of CU’s Department of Zoology.

Dr. Darrel Frost, curator at the American Museum of Natural History, has congratulated Sajid on the discovery and publication of the paper. Dr. Frost has confirmed that Sajid is the youngest in the world when it comes to the classification of reptiles and amphibians.

Dr. John S. Applegarth—author of the “Index of Authors of Herpetological Taxonomists”, edited by world-renowned zoologist Dr. Craig Adler—also extended his congratulations to Sajid and wished him further success.

Sajid enrolled in the Department of Zoology at CU in 2004. Since then, his journey with frogs and birds began. Personally, he has been conducting detailed research for a long time on the life cycle and reproduction of frogs. During this period, he collected samples of various frogs from both sides of the Katapahar Road on the CU campus, a hotspot known for frog breeding. Among these, one day in 2008, he discovered a rare species of frog. As usual, he took it to his personal archives and began the process of identifying its species and nature. However, even among the 650 frog species discovered and categorized worldwide so far, he found no record of a frog matching this one. This led to a different type of research. To verify the unique call and features of the frog, he communicated with some of the world’s top zoologists. With the cooperation of scientists from Portugal, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and many other countries, through sound analysis of the frog’s call and by observing other features, he was able to confirm that such a frog is found only in Bangladesh. Later, he submitted a paper on this matter to the journal Zootaxa, which is dedicated to wildlife classification and edited by the world’s leading zoologists. After verifying the authenticity of his discovery, the journal accepted his paper on January 19 of this year. Subsequently, it was published in Volume 2761 of Zootaxa on February 9.

Source: Bangladeshnews24x7.com